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n the first six months of this year, 135 fires were reported in North Jakarta, causing damage running into the billions of rupiah but no fatalities.

The North Jakarta Fire and Rescue sub-agency’s Satriadi Gunawan said that of the 135 incidents, eight occurred in industrial buildings, 27 took place in commercial and public buildings, while 39 residential buildings were burned.

Fourteen fires involved various kinds of vehicles, with the remaining 47 fires involving other objects, such as electrical facilities or piles of combustible materials.

“With regard to the causes, 100 fires were caused by electrical short circuits, 10 were due to exploding stoves and six were caused by cigarettes,” Satriadi said on Monday as quoted by beritajakarta.com, adding that a variety of causes lay behind the remaining 19 fire incidents.

Material losses amounting to Rp 12.1 billion (US$919,600) were recorded as a result of the fires.

“Last year, in the same period, total losses reached Rp 35.9 billion with two fatalities. This year’s incidents have claimed no lives. This shows that there is an improvement in response times,” Satriadi added.